chapter_0172

“The Goddess is dead?! How?!”

Rosalia, usually dressed in a saint’s robe woven from starlight, was now wearing a plain nun’s habit, and her divine power was gone along with the holy artifacts.

Fortunately, the only people around were the other possessed girls, so only the three of them had seen her naked. Their reactions to seeing Rosalia’s naked body were no different from the others’ reactions to the news of the Goddess’s death.

Leona, who couldn’t be included in this conversation, had been sent away with my apologies.

“Literally.”

As my explanation continued, the other four girls’ astonishment deepened.

Of course, it was a far-fetched story. The Goddess being chained up, the fact that she had separated her personality, and that she had been killed by an unknown creature that burst out of her chest—all of it was true.

But every word was the truth.

“……I killed that creature and buried the Goddess’s body, and then the heavenly realm itself collapsed. Looking back, it seems like the heavenly realm collapsed because the Goddess died and the divine power disappeared.”

As the heavenly realm collapsed and I returned to Earth, everyone’s gaze naturally turned to Laura. Laura shook her head.

“I didn’t include such a setting. Why would I put something like that in a novel that’s not even dark fantasy? If it had been my previous work, maybe, but why would I create a replica creature that bursts out of the Goddess’s chest in a romance novel?”

“Think about the death we experienced, Laura. It’s pretty gory for a romance novel, isn’t it?”

“There are plenty of romance novels gorier than that.”

Laura glared at Elysier, who retorted with a flick of her hand.

“Mira. What does it mean that the world was absorbed?”

While Laura and Elysier bickered, Priscilla cautiously asked a question.

“I don’t know either. I don’t know who the woman who absorbed the world I was in is, but she must be someone special if she brought me here. Maybe she’s the one who brought you four here as well.”

That seemed more likely. It would be strange if the person who brought me here and the person who brought them here were different.

After hearing my response, Priscilla hesitated for a while, then cautiously looked up at me.

“Um… I’ve been thinking about this ever since, but isn’t it possible that the Goddess specifically told you not to trust the people you trust because one of them is that woman?”

Thud! Rosalia, who had been caught in the middle of their bickering, suddenly turned her head.

“I’ve thought about that too.”

I sighed and continued. Priscilla’s body trembled at my response, which was as good as admitting that I had suspected them. Her body trembled slightly, and she hugged herself.

I gently patted her trembling body.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t suspect you just because of that. We’re all in this together. We’ve been through a lot, and we’ll continue to be there for each other.”

We were all possessed, and we had all walked a tightrope, so to speak, beyond the line of being just characters in a novel. I had no intention of suspecting them.

“And the people of this world won’t be suspected either.”

If I started suspecting everyone, I’d only tire myself out. It would be crazy to ruin all the relationships I’ve built over something that might be possible.

Well, if I treated them as mere characters in a novel, like Laura did, then maybe I could, but because of my memories of my previous world, I couldn’t do that either.

“But if that’s true…”

I didn’t finish my sentence. How would we even prepare for such a possibility?

The Goddess had used her last moments to warn me not to trust that woman. Who could that woman be?

“Ah, anyway! That’s not the most important thing right now! The divine power is gone!”

Rosalia clapped her hands, trying to change the mood. The chest area of her nun’s habit, which was a little too loose, wobbled dangerously.

“But what do we do now? The Goddess is dead…”

Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she was just making a suggestion. Her crimson eyes, filled with pity, pleaded with me to do something.

“……Mira, do you have a way…?”

“Maybe.”

“Huh, really?!”

Red eyes widened in surprise at my unexpected answer. I summoned the Holy Lance in my left hand, and the golden light that burst forth illuminated the room. The wide eyes narrowed again.

“Here it is. A way.”

“……”

An awkward silence filled the room. They all knew what this object meant to me.

“Anyway, it’s divine power, so at least in terms of pretending that Rosalia still has divine power, there shouldn’t be a problem. Even if other priests can’t use their powers, as long as you can use yours alone, that’s enough.”

Although the emotions that had led to the awakening of this Holy Lance were different, it was still a manifestation of faith. There was no reason why it couldn’t be the object of belief.

“……I don’t know if I can affect the Holy Sword, though.”

That was the problem. Even if the other priests couldn’t use their healing magic, as long as Rosalia could pretend to use hers, the confusion would eventually settle. But the fact that the Holy Sword hadn’t returned was a critical incident.

The Holy Sword was the symbol of the Goddess, and the Goddess’ symbol was the Holy Sword. What did it mean that the light had gone out? Rosalia’s return of power was meaningless, and the eyes of suspicion would definitely not subside.

“Even if we put the Holy Sword aside…… Are you sure it’s okay to do this? What about you, Mira?”

Rosalia cautiously glanced at me.

“I don’t mind. It’s better than leaving the entire continent in chaos. Even the Emperor is in a panic.”

Even when the Starlight Church had become corrupted, the divine power had not disappeared, and it had continued even after Rosalia became the saint and the sect collapsed.

For people not affiliated with the sect, divine power was as good as truth.

But now, the symbol of truth had disappeared overnight. The truth was unknown to humans, so it was natural for them to panic, and even the Emperor was no exception.

The only exception was the Sword Saint, who was still suffering from mania. Of course, the fact that she was so deep in his mania that she didn’t even know about the current situation was not a good thing.

“With the situation as it is, it will be difficult to maintain the front lines. How can people born in the age of the Goddess fight without divine power?”

In the past, it would have been a hellishly desperate situation. The only means of healing had disappeared. But nowadays, divine healing was by no means irreplaceable.

The problem was that the loss of faith in the Goddess would cause a collapse in morale, which couldn’t be healed by magic.

“The more the rumor spreads, the deeper the confusion will become. The people in the Church will be in a panic, and so will ordinary people. It’ll be worse than ever before.”

“……Yeah.”

Rosalia nodded glumly. It was easy to guess the truth, so she nodded with a shadow on her face, partly due to the light of the Holy Lance.

“Stop looking at me like that. It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. And now you’re here for me, aren’t you? Have you forgotten how you helped me?”

They all flinched, probably remembering the old times, and avoided my gaze. But their mouths were twitching slightly. My words seemed to be having an effect.

“And, wouldn’t Rosalia be more affected than me?”

“Huh? Me?”

Rosalia blinked.

“Why?”

.

.

.

Before even half a day had passed since the divine power disappeared, the entire Empire witnessed the saint surrounded by light on the battlefield.

The light that surrounded her burned the demons and healed the humans it touched, and all the other humans bowed their heads and knelt in awe.

Although her face was covered by the light, it was clear that she was filled with the joy of performing miracles.

.

.

.

Despite Rosalia’s gloomy expression as she borrowed the power of the Holy Lance to perform fake miracles, people were quickly regaining their composure. The rumors about the saint were spreading fast.

The priests had regained their divine power, and the news that the saint went to the battlefield was spreading even faster.

‘……Is it because the worlds have merged?’

I didn’t know why the divine power had returned. I had watched Rosalia, who had borrowed the power of the Holy Lance to perform fake miracles, regain her ability to weave the threads of starlight, so it felt like saying that the process of gathering faith didn’t matter as long as the result was the same.

‘Well, at least the confusion has settled, so it’s a good thing.’

I had told Rosalia to just keep quiet about the reason for the loss of divine power. People would make their own guesses, and we just needed to pick the most plausible one and polish it up for public announcement. Why should we bother racking our brains when we could just let others do the thinking for us?

However, a somewhat unique problem arose.

“The Emperor is seriously considering making Rosalia’s religion the state religion.”

“……”

The Emperor, who had snapped out of his panic after witnessing the miracle, was now seriously considering the claim that the loss of divine power was the Goddess’ punishment for those who didn’t believe.

The Empire was on the verge of becoming a theocracy.

“……I went to see the saint first.”

I met Leona’s gaze across the table and finished my thoughts. There was something more important to discuss right now. Leona, holding the Holy Sword, which had regained its light, smiled awkwardly.

“She said she couldn’t answer my question.”

‘Of course.’

I hadn’t thought about the reason, so how could she answer?

“So, Mira.”

Leona put the Holy Sword on the table and looked at me calmly.

“What do you want to talk to me about?”